Woman drowns dog in Orlando airport bathroom because she couldn't take it on flight, cops say

Silas Morgan, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 20, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ORLANDO, Fla. — A woman was arrested Tuesday after police said she drowned her dog in an Orlando International Airport restroom because she couldn’t take it on her flight.

Police say Alison Agatha Lawrence, 57, of Clermont, killed Tywinn — a 9-year-old white miniature Schnauzer — in the airport bathroom Dec. 16 before her flight to Bogota, Colombia, according to her arrest warrant affidavit. She was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of aggravated animal abuse — a third-degree felony — and was released from jail on $5,000 bond.

According to the affidavit, the dog was discovered in the bathroom by an airport employee. The employee told police she saw a woman — later identified as Lawrence — in a bathroom stall cleaning up water and dog food from the floor. The employee returned to clean the bathroom about 20 minutes later and saw Lawrence leave the stall. When she went to remove the trash bag she noticed it was unusually heavy and found the dog.

The Orlando Police Department responded to the scene along with Orange County Animal Services. The affidavit said police found other items in the bag with the dog’s body — which appeared extremely damp — including a dog tag with Lawrence’s name and phone number on it, a dog collar, dog travel bag and harness that said “SERVICE DOG.”

Animal Services examined the dog’s body and found blood on its left leg along with it being warm and damp. A necropsy ruled cause of death as drowning/submersion into water, according to court records.

Animal Services located a microchip under the dog’s skin that revealed Tywinn was registered to Allison Holt — another name used by Lawrence which police learned using a law enforcement database, court records show. Police identified the phone number on the dog tag as belonging to Lawrence listed under the Holt name.

Airport surveillance footage shows Lawrence talking to an airline agent at a ticket counter for about 15 minutes, something the report notes is longer than normal for interactions at a ticket counter — which usually last less than five minutes. She then walked with Tywinn to the bathroom about 20 feet from the ticket area, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said footage shows Lawrence later exiting the bathroom without the dog then walking toward the exit to the street and leaving the main terminal. She then walked toward the next-closest door and re-entered the terminal — which the report described as unusual behavior. She later went on to board her plane.

Court records said U.S. Customs and Border Protection determined Lawrence had connecting flights to Ecuador but did not have a flight booked to return to the United States as of when the report was written in January. OPD has not provided any information regarding her return to the United States.

---------